Roma squeezed past Atalanta 1-0 in Saturday’s high-stake Serie A fixture at the Stadio Olimpico to leapfrog La Dea to fifth in the standings. The moment of truth took place in the 32nd minute as Tammy Abraham scored his 13th goal of the season to seal the visitors’ fate.
After converting a 99th-minute penalty in a 1-0 win at Spezia last time out, the ex-Chelsea star was decisive again for Roma, who have reduced the gap on fourth-placed Juventus to three points. The Giallorossi had drawn three consecutive Serie A matches beforehand and are unbeaten in their last seven in a row.
Interestingly, head coach Jose Mourinho was absent from both abovementioned victories as he is serving a two-game ban for a red card against Hellas Verona. It seems that Roma performed better without the Portuguese manager on the touchline, as defender Gianluca Mancini shared Mourinho’s words in the aftermath.
The Italian centre-back, who forged a stronghold in front of Rui Patricio’s goal alongside Chris Smalling and Marash Kumbulla, confessed what the ‘Special One’ told Roma players after the win over Atalanta.
“Mourinho said afterwards we were doing so well, he would not come back on the bench,” Mancini told DAZN, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB. “He said well done for not getting booked. It’s a rare occurrence, I can’t remember the last time that happened.“
Saturday’s triumph marked Roma’s first clean sheet against a top-half opposition in Serie A since a goalless home draw with Napoli in late October. The Giallorossi have built a strong case for their first top-four finish since 2017/18.
Their top-four credentials will be on the line when they take on Udinese at the Dacia Arena next weekend. Mourinho will return in the dugout for his side’s trip to Udine, where Roma will be looking to post back-to-back away league wins for the first time under his stewardship.